Some say that the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) was founded in 1903 in order to produce a local intelligentsia subservient to the demands of the United States, which only five years earlier ripped the island from Spain. In the 107 years since, the exact opposite has taken place.

In 1948, pro-independence students invited the president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos, as a guest speaker, who recently had been released after serving ten years in a U.S. prison. The then-chancellor of the UPR’s Río Piedras campus, Jaime Benítez, refused to allow Albizu Campos to enter, prompting student protests. In response, a group of student leaders who held Puerto Rican flags, which was illegal during the time, were expelled.

In 1970, a massive student struggle emerged in the midst of the Vietnam War, calling for the removal of the ROTC from the Río Piedras campus. During the conflict, a policeman killed a young student, Antonia Martínez Lagares, who subsequently became a symbol of the Puerto Rican student movement.

On April 21, 2010 a new student movement commenced in response to the austerity measures proposed by the UPR President, José Ramón de la Torre, and the Governor of Puerto Rico, Luis Fortuño, spawning an indefinite strike that is paralyzing the UPR system and brought international attention to the island.

Entering his second year in office, the right-wing and pro-statehood governor has proven to have little respect for Puerto Rico’s institutions. From firing nearly 20,000 government employees that provoked a massive one-day general strike to cutting the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture’s budget in half to getting rid of the membership requirement for lawyers to one of the island’s oldest institutions, the Puerto Rican Bar Association, Fortuño is reshaping the island, as many believe, in order to prepare it for statehood.

The UPR is no exception to Fortuño’s reign of terror. A new proposal, Certification 98, passed by the university’s Board of Trustees, eliminates fee exceptions for student athletes and university employees and their families. Furthermore, there is a proposed budget cut of up to $100 million. In response, a student-driven Negotiating Committee of 16 members were created and a list of demands were composed, which includes alternative measures to the massive budget cuts. These measures include the budget reduction of the burdensome Office of the President and a call for payment of multiple private and public entities that owe the university millions of dollars. The UPR president and the Río Piedras chancellor, Ana Guadalupe, refused to meet with the committee and washed their hands of the issue by transmitting their demands to the Board of Trustees, which are dragging their feet to review them.

Thus, on April 13 over 3,000 students from the Río Piedras campus assembled in an auditorium and the majority of those present voted in favor of a 48-hour strike. The UPR administration still refuses to meet with the students.

Now the UPR is experiencing an indefinite strike, which has expanded to include eight of the 11 campuses throughout the island.

Hundreds of students and staff even occupied, for a time, the Río Piedras campus until Riot Police, at the insistence of the Chancellor, forcefully removed them. Then she officially closed down the university’s operations, locked the main entrance, and ordered police to guard the campus. This prompted a student lawsuit and the Puerto Rican Supreme Court ordered the university to re-open its gates by May 3. Meanwhile, hundreds of students have congregated at the gates, holding theatrical performances, discussions, and even clean-ups and beautification projects of the surrounding area.

The response of support for the UPR strike has been major. The official Student Council of Río Piedras initially opposed the action but soon joined the Negotiating Committee. The Puerto Rican Association of University Professors and the Committee of Students of Private Universities have also joined the strike. Moreover, on April 27, a huge concert with thousands of students, called “¡Qué Vivan Los Estudiantes!” – “Long Live The Students!”, was held in front of the locked gates of the Río Piedras campus. Musical artists from the island and around the world, such as Calle 13, Ricky Martin, Rubén Blades, and Juanes, offered their support.

Nonetheless, the opposition has remained firm. Fortuño himself, a day before the concert, spoke directly to the strike in his yearly “State of the Commonwealth” address. In his incendiary speech, which received massive applause by the pro-statehood controlled Congress, he chastised the students for abusing their “privilege,” especially in the face of such a gracious government system. Reminiscent of a national speech by Mexican President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz when confronting massive student protests on the eve of the 1968 Olympics, Fortuño said that the people of Puerto Rico are of law and order and believe in democracy. At the conclusion of his address, he said “…we are here, ready and willing to offer the help… to protect the rights of all the students – both to the miniscule group that protest to the immense majority of those who want classes to continue.”

As mentioned earlier, there is a long trajectory of student struggle at the UPR, proving that one of the most important institutions in Puerto Rico is producing minds eager to reshape the challenge with a fair dialogue and open arms or continue a tradition that left the Plaza of Tlatelolco in México City stained with blood in the summer of ‘68.

by Xavier “Xavi” Luis Burgos

Photos by Alvin Cuoto

Enrique Dussel, described by my friend Cornel West as “one of the giants of emancipatory thought and liberation philosophy,” visited Paseo Boricua and met for a breakfast hosted by Executive Director of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center José E. López, with several clergy and community leaders from the Humboldt Park area present. It was a fascinating time of conversation regarding topics such as immigration reform, a theology for the immigrant, the relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States, Latin America, and everything else in between.

The energy of the conversation was a resilient interaction of sharing our own context of struggle and thoughts with the Argentinean Philosopher of Liberation.  I was greatly impressed at how this giant of a thinker listened intensely and responded to the questions and various analyses going back and forth in rapid fire.

In the course of the lively conversation, we paused to introduce Dussel to Ricardo Jiménez, a former Puerto Rican political prisoner. Among other notable acts, Jiménez volunteered at El Rancor, a drug rehabilitation center. He was a key player in the exposé of the plan known as Chicago 21, which aimed to turn a Puerto Rican community into a bastion of the high-income white-collar class. He assisted in the development of Loyola University’s first Puerto Rican history class, and was a member of the organization that ultimately founded Roberto Clemente High School.

As Enrique Dussel shook Jiménez’s hand he said, “I am shaking the hand of a saint.” As a bystander with some knowledge of the lives of both of these men, I found the moment to be especially tender and humbling.  Dussel knows firsthand what repression and struggle is all about. He should; It nearly killed him.

In 1971, Dussel’s home was bombed by a paramilitary group, forcing him to seek exile in México where he teaches in the department of philosophy at the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM). It was his powerful dedication to liberation philosophy that called down the wrath of the group that destroyed his home and attempted to take his life. The plight of the marginalized and the disadvantaged is Dussel’s focus. He believes that the liberation of the oppressed will not happen through a violent uprising such as those that occur under paramilitary groups. This, he says, will only replace one tyrannical ruling body with another, thus perpetuating the injustice. It is Dussel’s wish to not only liberate the downtrodden from the powers that hold them in place, but also to free the oppressors from their need to oppress.

Dussel himself, amazed with the thought provoking dialogue, shared how he impressed he was with the many symbols of cultural expression along Paseo Boricua.  Cheerfully he expressed his appreciation for our time together saying, “I’ve said things that I never have said before today.” In closing, Dussel expressed the importance of those struggling on the margins to know and celebrate their history.  He singled out how Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. provided a vision of the future in his, “I Have a Dream,” speech.  We in the Latino community must provide our people with a vision.

This comment was especially riveting to me.  As a pastor and theologian, I began to ponder and think about what citizenship in God’s kingdom looks like. Heaven has no borders. People there come to-and-fro in peace, regardless of the color of their skin or the language that they spoke in life or their religious views. How would it look on earth if the same principles ruled? If instead of drawing lines around our little bits of land and calling them sacred, we instead opened wide the borders and pulled down the walls and let the world mingle freely?

The official language of heaven is love, as every child who has ever entered a Sunday School classroom knows. The official language of Heaven on Earth should be love as well. No favoritism among the residents of the planet, no elevation of one group or race over another, no hatred on the basis of exterior differences, but rather a shared responsibility in enriching the lives of one another to our mutual benefit. Heaven on Earth is possible. And men like Enrique Dussel seek to make this vision not simply a pretty dream wrapped in a philosophical thought experiment, but rather a concrete reality presided over by a God who is joyfully and unashamedly blind to human differences.

by Rev. Dr. Pedro J. Windsor-García

On April 9 the Institute for Puerto Rican Arts and Culture (IPRAC) showcased the work of two Puerto Rican filmmakers, Richard Santiago and Jorge “Fish” Rodriguez.

Richard Santiago presented a brief excerpt of a documentary he is making with Rodríguez on Puerto Rico boxers. Before the film was shown, Santiago spoke about the commitment that young Puerto Rican boxers make to their training, “These boxers are like Tibeten monks,” said Santiago. “No drinking, no sex, etc. to prepare for fighting.”

Jorge “Fish” Rodríguez shared a myriad of projects he’s worked on past and present. He showed the music video he directed for Calle 13 for the song AtreveteTe-Te, which won a Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video in 2006. Rodríguez worked intently to create a music video that challenged the types of images seen in mainstream hip-hop videos.  The video’s protagonists do not wear massive gold chains and pop bottles of champagne.  The video also calls into question the Americanization of Puerto Rican life by including images of Puerto Rican women wearing blond wigs walking in front of rows of houses painted the same color, reminiscent of Levittown.

Rodríguez did not formally study filmmaking; instead he studied sculpture and specialized in image and design in college.  He relied on on-line tutorials to learn film techniques. Rodríguez became involved in film after a trip he made to Argentina. He was at a bar in a poor neighborhood of Buenos Aires discussing politics and Latin American history with locals. Through that conversation he became aware of South America’s “Dirty War” during which thousands of students, intellectuals, and professionals were targeted by the Argentine government. It was then that he vowed to return to Argentina within a year to create a documentary on the Plaza de Mayo massacre.

During that trip to Argentina, Rodriguez’s consciousness about Puerto Rico’s colonial relationship with the United States was fomented. That consciousness- raising experience was artistically transformative. When referring to his art before his trip, Rodriguez’s said, “everything was superficial.”

Jorge “Fish” Rodríguez has also directed the music video for Pasarela by Puerto Rican rapper/singer Dalmata. Rodríguez plans to create a full-length feature film in the future and continues to create films in order “to provoke, to show reality, to talk about what’s happening.”

by Eric López

Bárbara J. Figueroa Rosa / Primera Hora

Vienen desde abajo, desde las esquinas marginadas del país. Vienen desde esos rincones que los de arriba, sean de derecha o izquierda, saludan cada cuatro años buscando números para los partidos políticos. Vienen de esos lugares que permanecen en el anonimato hasta que las estadísticas los señalan como de alta incidencia criminal.

Son ellos los que muchos miran por encima del hombro pero que con coraje defienden su historia y tienen el compromiso de preservarla a través de las generaciones. Son comunidades que se levantan, que defienden sus derechos y que construyen día a día y a pulmón su futuro.

Son la gente buena de barrios como Piñones (Loíza), Sabana Seca (Toa Baja) y la Península de Cantera (San Juan), unas zonas que -sin querer tapar el sol con un dedo porque sí, es cierto-, tienen plasmadas las huellas de la violencia al ocupar las primeras posiciones en crimen, incluyendo asesinatos, según datos de la Policía. Pero, cierto es también que son lugares donde se forjan líderes y proyectos comunitarios que pretenden cambiar el estigma que se tiene de sus territorios.

intensa la batalla

Pero la lucha no se dio de la noche a la mañana. No fue fácil. El proceso tomó su tiempo y de eso pueden dar fe los líderes comunitarios y trabajadores sociales que se lanzaron a las calles a adentrarse en el barrio, a olfatear a la gente, conocer sus necesidades pero, sobre todo, a apreciar sus habilidades.

“Lo primero que hicimos nosotros fue un proceso de inserción para conocer el barrio con todos sus sabores y matices. Queríamos saber cómo es su gente… desde que se levantan hasta que se acuestan. Queríamos saber quiénes eran sus líderes comunitarios, pero queríamos que ellos también nos conocieran”, recordó Alejandro Cotté, director de participación ciudadana del proyecto Enlace del Caño Martín Peña, en San Juan. Este proyecto es una iniciativa que surgió hace 12 años para unir los esfuerzos de la comunidad, el sector privado y el Gobierno para mejorar la calidad de vida de los 27,000 habitantes de las ocho comunidades aledañas al caño, y rehabilitar este cuerpo de agua.

Al principio, recuerda Cotté, fue cuesta arriba. Pero el tiempo se convirtió en aliado del proyecto y la confianza fue el ingrediente que comenzó a abrirle las puertas.

“Ése fue el primer reto porque la gente no confía y tuvimos que hacerles entender la importancia de participar en la toma de decisiones. Y es que estaban acostumbrados, o los acostumbraron, a que las cosas se rigen desde arriba. Con nosotros la cosa fue diferente, desde abajo, fuimos trabajando y construyendo juntos muchos proyectos”, explica sobre las ofertas que abarca Enlace y que cubren aspectos económicos, sociales y culturales.

Mencionó como ejemplo de lucha una actividad llamada Reclamando el derecho a la tranquilidad”, donde cientos de niños marcharon por las calles llevando un mensaje de no violencia, ante una serie de eventos violentos -incluidos asesinatos- que han impedido que durante los pasados meses los niños salgan a jugar a las calles.

“Quisiéramos que no hubiesen tiros al aire, que no mataran personas, que nos lleváramos en paz, que nosotros los niños de estas comunidades pudiéramos jugar en las calles, que no tuviéramos miedo al salir de nuestras casas y que tengamos paz”, era el reclamo de los nenes.

“No se puede partir de las necesidades”

Sin embargo, para lograr el empoderamiento de una comunidad, como lo hicieron los niños de Cantera, sus líderes tienen que aprender a no juzgarla. Aquí el juego es otro y debe partir de lo positivo. Al menos ésa ha sido la fórmula para el fraile franciscano Eddie Caro, director ejecutivo del proyecto comunitario Niños de Nueva Esperanza, del barrio Sabana Seca en Toa Baja.

“No se puede partir de las necesidades y ése es el desafío más grande: poner la mirada hacia las habilidades y fortaleza. Es la única forma en que comienzan a fluir las ideas”, asegura el fraile, que llegó a Sabana Seca en 1998 como parte de un menester religioso que ofrece servicios educativos, psicosociales y socioculturales en la que participan niños y adultos.

“Los hechos difíciles pueden desanimar y eso es una tentación que tenemos que bloquear”, analiza al expresar que las comunidades pobres poseen la virtud de ser organismos vivos que se protegen entre sí para poder sobrevivir.

a ganar respeto

Una vez se goza de la confianza del vecindario, el próximo paso, según Maricruz Rivera, directora de la Corporación Piñones se Integra, en Loíza, es educar a las otras personas.

“Tenemos que lograr que nuestros jóvenes y los que nos visitan nos vean con respeto”, dice al sugerir que ese escalón se sube convenciendo al barrio de que “no puedo cambiar la mirada de otros si no lo trabajo”, por lo que hay que integrar en las gestiones comunitarias con los residentes.

“Toma tiempo, es trabajoso, hay que tocar muchas puertas y algunas se cerrarán, pero no nos podemos rendir… ésa es la clave”, asegura Rivera.

Marisol Rodríguez

On Saturday, March 20 Park West Theater was filled with Puerto Rican music enthusiasts and local community members for Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center’s annual Abolition of Slavery Concert, which featured plena music performances as well as an awards ceremony in recognition of talented pleneros of Chicago.

This year’s concert marked the 20th annual celebration of the abolition of slavery in Puerto Rico by Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center (SRBCC), a Chicago institution promoting the African influence in Puerto Rican music and culture for the past 39 years. The concert opened with performances by local bomba y plena group Nuestro Tambó as well as Los Pleneritos Del Son, youth pleneros/as between the ages of 10 and 14 who traveled all the way from Puerto Rico to be a part of the celebration.

A significant part of the evening’s program was dedicated to the awards ceremony during which Mirely Rodríguez, SRBCC Program Coordinator and Agustin Maldonado, SRBCC CEO/President recognized the following plena musicians: Ismael ‘Cocolay’ Rivera González, Félix Díaz, Hector ‘Tito’ Matos, Jorge Emmanuelli Nater, Victor Emmanuelli Nater, Ángel Fuentes and Mario J. Donate Jr.

Mirely Rodríguez noted that the musicians, who were each awarded a pandereta drum inscribed with a personalized dedication, were chosen from public open nominations. “[The awards ceremony] was an opportunity to acknowledge peers that met criteria that wasn’t just about being a great musician but also doing community work,” said Rodríguez.

One of the awarded musicians Ángel Fuentes has been creating bomba y plena in the Humboldt Park community for many years as part of Nuestro Tambó, which recently released their first album, “Otras Historias de Elena.” Fuentes explained that he, along with the other musicians, were highlighted for their skill as requinto drummers (the requinto is the drum in plena that improvises over the main beat of the seguidor and punteador drums).

Fuentes first learned about bomba y plena as a 16-year-old student at ASPIRA Antonia Pantojas High School where he took Puerto Rican history and culture classes taught by AfriCaribe Director Tito Rodríguez. “I remember hearing the drums and learning that it was our [Puerto Rican] music, said Fuentes. “The drums kind of called me.”

For more information on Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center visit: www.ruizbelvis.org and for more information on Nuestro Tambó visit: www.nuestrotambo.org

Eric López

The Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture (IPRAC) opened a new exhibit entitled “Úteros” by the artist Richard Santiago on Saturday, April 3.

Santiago is a renowned Puerto Rican painter and filmmaker who resides in Puerto Rico and has exhibited work in galleries all over the world.  He has a B.A. in Art from Marist College in New York and an MFA in Painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art.

The artist recently returned to painting, after pursuing film for several years.  His return to this medium coincided with the birth of his son.  Santiago spoke about the symbolic meaning of pregnancy and compared the universe to a womb. He poses that there is a cosmic connection between women and the

universe.

“Úteros” is a collection of over 20 paintings that contrast retrospective pieces from the period before Santiago stopped painting with his most recent work.

The images in Santiago’s paintings range from surrealistic landscapes with human figures to cosmic phenomena like black holes.  Whether using vibrant colors to create abstract representations of space or depicting Puerto Rican peasants from the 1940’s, Santiago’s images are captivating and powerful.

The pieces in this exhibit show sensitivity to and an acute awareness of the intersection and inter-relatedness of the human experience, the universe, art and Puerto Rican historical memory.  “Úteros” can be viewed at IPRAC until June.

The Cocineros Unidos de Humboldt Park’s presence in the park was threatened when Park Concessions Management, a private company contracted by the Chicago Park District to manage its concession vendors, attempted to double their rent.  The Puerto Rican Agenda worked closely with the Cocineros in developing a response, and with the support and advocacy of 26th Ward Alderman Maldonado a victory was won in keeping the Cocineros in the park this year. Next year a new contract will have to be negotiated and the goal is to work with the Alderman, the community and the Chicago Park District to ensure that the Cocineros Unidos de Humboldt Park continues to be a institution of the Puerto Rican community in Humboldt Park for decades to come.

Xavier “Xavi” Luis Burgos

“I’m going to put Black as my race,” says Andrew Torres, 16, a student of the Barrio, Arts, Culture, and Communications Academy after school program in Humboldt Park. “But, you look white and got red hair!” I exclaimed with a smile of interest. “Yeah, but don’t Puerto Ricans got Black in us?” he responded with a look of confusion. “Yes we do,” I said.

The U.S. Congress requires for the counting of every person in the United States every 10 years and the U.S. Census Bureau puts a lot of work in making this happen. After everyone is counted the results play a very large role in deciding on how much funding is allocated to schools, special projects, political representation, among other important things. In many ways, the relationship between the government (on all of its levels) and communities are determined by who and how many live in those areas. For Latinas/os, the census plays a unique role.

Now that “Hispanic” and “Latino” are official options in the census since 1970, they are still ethnic options, not race options. In other words, the U.S. government recognizes that there are Latinas/os in the U.S. (now more than 40 million of us and growing!) but we are not at the level of “white,” “Black,” or “American Indian” as a category.

First of all, the idea of race is different in Latin America. My student could easily pass for white, but his entire life is not that of a white person, but of a Puerto Rican growing up in Humboldt Park among people of color. He also recognizes that Puerto Ricans are a mixed people – Taíno Indian, European, and African. The U.S. Census Bureau’s neat categories do not fit the Puerto Rican or Latin American reality of a beautifully mixed people. That is why we are forced to choose, but is that choice really reflective of our history; of our experiences?

I consider myself a “Black” Puerto Rican – my African ancestry is more obvious in my skin-color and facial features more so than other Boricuas, but is my experience the same as an African-American? What about my uncle Junior? He is very light-skinned, but was called “spic” when he was in the South because they knew he was not white. Is he going to put “white” on the census?

It also must be noted that being Puerto Rican is different from being Mexican or Dominican or any other ethnic group from Latin America. The grouping of all these different nationalities into one category like “Latino” is limiting, but making them all separate races will not solve anything. “Latino” is empowering. There is much that makes us distinct, but there is so much that binds us. The great show of solidarity between the Puerto Rican and Mexican communities in the Immigration Movement proves that.

In the end, my people, put on the census that you are “Latino” and do it proudly. We all must be counted – only then could we tell this country that we are a people to be recognized and our issues must be taken into account, from immigration to gentrification. Also, make sure you put what Latina/o grouping you are from. In communities like Humboldt Park, which is experiencing displacement because of rising rents and property taxes we need to know how many Puerto Ricans are still here so we can continue to build what we have struggled so much to build. Those Paseo Boricua Flags are not going anywhere! “¡Boricua, Házte Contar!”

As for the “race” question, put what you like. I put “other/ mixed” because that is what I/we are. As a Mexican educator put it, we are la raza cósmica, the cosmic race.

Magdaleno Castañeda –

On the eve of Three Kings Day, Humboldt Park witnessed a special visit by Puerto Rican artist, Osvaldo Budet, whose paintings were unveiled at the opening night of “Romantic Political Affair,” an exhibit of the artist’s work at the Institute of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture (IPRAC). Despite the cold of a typical Chicago winter, dozens of people, including a television camera crew, gathered at IPRAC for an evening of art and appetizers. The exhibit consisted of seven paintings that varied between color and black and white.

Ray Vázquez, president of the IPRAC Board of Directors, welcomed everyone to the opening of the exhibit, which will run until March 5. José E. López, executive director of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, introduced Budet and thanked him for his visit, as well as for the mural Budet created at Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School. “How do we camouflage through art, messages we want to send about resistance,” was the question López asked the audience in explaining the themes behind Budet’s work.

“There is a duality between comedy and tragedy in Mexican life and cultural expression that resonates with Budet’s art in “Romantic Political Affair,” said López, who made also made connections between Budet’s work to that of Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo. When Budet spoke, he first thanked everyone for attending the exhibit and explained a little about his paintings saying, “I try to make politics more accessible to me and to all through humor.” This humor was visible in the “Where’s Waldo?” characteristic of Budet’s painting, which all include an image of himself. “Humor is a key to deal with anything,” Budet said. Many of his painting combine the humor with political events from the past like the Spanish Civil War as well as the Vietnam War. Budet also emphasized the importance of identity in his work. “The only thing we have is identity and we have to unite to keep our identity and respect other’s identity.”

After his speech, Budet socialized with the crowd and answered the public’s questions regarding his artwork. He also invited everyone to the community workshop and lecture at IPRAC held on January 9. It was great for Budet to have taken time from his busy schedule of studying art in Germany to visit Paseo Boricua. IPRAC was a very fitting place for the “Romantic Political Affair” exhibit because as Budet said, “Here is a place that preserves our culture.”

José Luis Rodríguez –

On December 9, 2009, the Institute for Puerto Rican Arts and Culture (IPRAC) sponsored its first annual NaviJazz Concert held at VLive nightclub (2047 North Milwaukee). The concert will become a regular feature of the Institute’s work in promoting Puerto Rican musicians who have, and continue to make, significant contributions to the musical genre of Latin Jazz.

The very first concert featured the legendary William Cepeda, Puerto Rican trombonist, composer, and arranger. Cepeda brought with him a legend in his own right, pianist Edwin Figueroa, formerly of Batacumbele. These two legends were backed up by Chicago’s very own Latin jazz band, Latin Inspiration, led by Johnny Rodríguez, who has been recognized as one of Chicago’s top trombone players, along with Afri-Caribe, Chicago’s premier bomba group, led by Tito Rodríguez.

The night outside was in a deep freeze with temperatures bottoming out to the single digits. Inside was quite another reality. The temperature was beyond hot—slowly rising with each melody and each note that the musicians played. Cepeda showed his mastery as composer, arranger, and conductor by effortlessly fusing the genre of Latin Jazz— its emphasis on the trombone, trumpet and saxophone— with the rhythmic heart beating percussions of bomba.

On stage, Cepeda challenged each musician to give their absolute best performance. The crowd, which included more than 500 people, was awed while treated to a once-in-a-lifetime experience in seeing Cepeda not only lead these musicians, but watch as he himself put down the trombone and picked up his shells and began to blow into them. He played the shells as if they were his trombone, blowing melodic sounds that combined and blended smoothly with every note. It was a showcase of the best that our musicians have to show, both from the Puerto Rico and from Paseo Boricua/Humboldt Park, Chicago—the common denominator certainly being they were all Boricua. This was undoubtedly a memorable night—one that has set the bar high for the future of NaviJazz.